What we know about the physical
appearance of the caravel--including the shape of its hull, the slope of the
bow, how it rides in the water, etc.--is severly limited to iconograhic representation
from the era under examination. This is a mixed blessing, since without these
remnants from the past we would have no visual aid for what this vessel looked
like. However, as with all artists' renditions, there exists the possibility
of inaccuracy due to ignorance, misinterpretation of data, or personal embelishment.
Thus, although the value of iconographic representations of ancient ships
can be inestimable, they must be studied carefully and with a critical eye.

The following images are a compilation
of much of the existing graphic representations of the caravel. The first
ten are some of the depictions that contain the most prominent features of
the vessel, and short descriptions have been included below the iconography.

(Site
temporarily under construction)

1.Caravels from the signatures
of 15th-century Portuguese fishermen

On 5 December 1488 master Joao
de Liao signed an order for a supply of biscuits which were bound for
Pero Vaz da Cunha's caravel. Accompanying his signature is a drawing
of a small sailing vessel. Presumably, this craft is the caravel to
which these supplies were to be sent. This being the case, this drawing
provided by Joao de Liao is the first known representation of a Portuguese
caravel. Three other signatures of fisherman from Puerto de Santa Maria
likewise contain simple depictions of vessels from this period, and
are likened to the caravel from the signature of Joao de Liao. The vessels
have low freeboards, delicately sloping bows, single forecastles, and
are single-masted with lateen rigged sails. Although these depictions
provide little along the lines of structural characteristics, these
rudimentary sketches nevertheless contribute to our perceptions of early
caravels with regard to shape and primary traits that the artists attributed
to the ships.

2. Caravel from Livro das
Fortalezas de Duarte Damas

This image comes from a page of
the early 16th-century book called Livro das Fortalezas de Duarte
Damas, and clearly shows a caravel with an elongated hull and single
sterncastle. Unfortunately, like most ship iconography, the caravel's
hull is only shown from the waterline up. This makes it difficult to
analyze the lower part of the hull, but does show the relatively low
freeboard these vessels employed. All the sails are furled in this representation,
and the caravel is shown fairly close to the shore in the original representation.
Note the similarities between this image and those from the above signatures
of the 15th-century fishermen.

3. Two-mastered caravel from
Livro das Fortalezas de Duarte Damas

On the far left is
another caravel from the same book, although this one wields two lateen-rigged
masts instead of three. Nonetheless, this caravel has the same elongated
and low-riding hull, with a single sterncastle and gently sloping bow.
Again, the sails are furled, and here the vessels are anchored by the
fortress.

4. Caravels
from a luminary in the Chronicles of King D. Afonso Henriques